Village history

A brief history of Radway

• Radway is mentioned in the Domesday Book
• The Battle of Edgehill was fought on the edge of the village and one of the soldiers is said to still haunt here
• A monastic house, The Grange, was established by the Cistercian Monks from Radmore in the 12th Century and was later turned into a grand house by the Gothic Architect, Sanderson Miller in the 18th Century
• Henry Fielding is believed to have read some of Tom Jones to a house party at The Grange before it was published
• St Peter’s Church was built in 1866 and replaced an earlier medieval church
• The churchyard has a memorial to a victim of an early motoring accident dated 1899
• The ancestors of the American President George Washington lived at The Grange as did Earl Haig, the WW1 General and founder of the poppy appeal
• John Profumo was MP for Stratford-upon-Avon and is believed to have stayed in Radway.

More significant features of Radway’s history:

Early Saxon – it is assumed that King John’s Lane was a Mercian boundary.

Saxon – earliest recorded historic links are to Coventry when Radway was wholly owned by the Church.

Radmore Monks – Edward1 in 1284 grants a “free warren” (an enclosed area for the breeding of game), in Radway Manor.

Church of St Peter – originally built in 1321, it was demolished when the present church was consecrated in 1866.

Radway Grange – built in the 16th century by the Stoneleigh monks and redesigned and landscaped by Sanderson Miller in the 18th century.

The Farmers – Spring line village with organised drainage. Grazed parkland, visible evidence of ridge and furrow, working farms within the village.

The Quakers – significant Quaker tradition with a burial ground and Quaker Meeting House (Oriel Cottage) which was in use until 1850.

Village Hall and Church School – commissioned by Charles and John Chambers in 1852 and 1854 respectively.

War Memorial Lych-gate – erected in grateful remembrance of those belonging to the village who served in the Great War 1914 – 1918 and in sacred memory of those who fell in active service 1939 – 1945. Field Marshall Earl Haig is listed in the roll of honour.

The Green – houses erected by the council in the 1950s in three phases on the boundary of “The Green”.

Townsend Farm – adaptation of former farm buildings to create 5 dwellings in the late 1980s.

Old Stable Yard Stable Mews – adaptation of former stables and new buildings to create 7 dwellings in the late 1990s.